Though the Lord is exalted, he looks kindly on the lowly;‍ though lofty, he sees them from afar. (NIV)

I'm finding lately that there's nothing quite as persistent as a three-year-old with a question. My son will repeat the same question over and over and over until someone gives him their full attention by turning their face to him, getting down on his level, and then giving a thoughtful response rather than a lazy or dismissive one. The sad truth is that it’s so easy to get caught up in our own worlds, and bending low to listen to the mundane or outrageous (no middle ground, it seems) questions of a toddler can feel like quite the chore! How thankful I am that my God's unlimited graciousness makes him a far better listener than I will ever be.  

Our verse today says, "Though the Lord is exalted, he looks kindly on the lowly; though lofty, he sees them from afar" (Ps. 138:6). A few psalms earlier, the writer says, "I love the Lord because he hears my voice and my prayer for mercy. Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath!" (Ps. 116:1-2, NLT). In these verses I see a picture of a God who isn't afraid to get down on our level. This is never at the expense of his greatness, but rather, because of his great kindness, love, and graciousness toward his kids, he is always ready to really see us, right where we're at.

The topic of submission can feel hard, at least for me, because fear whispers that perhaps making ourselves low will result in being trampled on. And while this may have happened in our lives before with other humans, when our worth and value is held secure in the nail-scared hands of a Savior who loved us so much that he died for us, submission doesn't need to be scary. See, we are children of a God who is always ready and willing to bend down to listen and respond. Though lofty, he hears you, sees you, looks kindly on you, and is ever-ready to get down on your level.  

In fact, today's verse suggests that God is actually quicker to bend an ear to the one who chooses a life of humble submission instead of arrogance. In the NLT, this verse is translated, "Though the Lord is great, he cares for the humble, but he keeps his distance from the proud." I'll tell you what, I don't want God to keep his distance from me! I want to be like the little kid who knows their need, not the little one who thinks they can do it all on their own. If we're thinking of my toddler, he demonstrates both in his life! And while I'm proud of my kid's blossoming independence, the same dynamic doesn't apply to our faith walk. When it comes to faith, the goal isn't to outgrow our dependence on our Father. Rather, Jesus encourages us to emulate little ones by taking a childlike approach to God and faith. Jesus says, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children" (Matt. 19:14, NLT).

How do you view submission? Is it a necessary evil? Do you bend low to others begrudgingly? Do you think of submission to God as bending low out of necessity? Or do you see yourself in the shoes of the child - blessed to rely completely on a God who bends down to YOU. How can you lean into that lowly station today, rather than fighting it or trying to pridefully put it aside?  

One way we can worship God, acknowledging our lowly state before him and praising him for bending down to humanity, is in how we live in relation to others. Our worship isn't only in our words and actions when music is playing. Every breath and movement in our lives is worship in one way or another, and that includes how we submit to others.  

Maybe it's how we submit to those in leadership roles in our lives: That could be allowing your husband to be the leader of your family or how you follow the leadership of your boss at work. It could be choosing to come under the church leadership of your pastor with a joyful spirit instead of a cynical one, or maybe it's choosing to submit to a mentor's wisdom in your life. Maybe God is calling you to submit to him by trusting the Holy Spirit with your kids' salvation or asking you to tame your tongue instead of popping off to that hard-to-love person in your life. There are many arenas in which we are called to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ (Eph. 5:21), married or single, male or female, young or old. The trick, though, is how??

I think it starts with this verse - between you and God. If you can't submit to the King of the Universe, how do you expect your heart to submit to anyone else? See, I think we've perhaps got our position all wrong. We buck at submission because we think we're in the lofty seat. But the psalmist reminds us that position belongs to God alone. Before him, we're all just lowly little toddlers. What if you embraced that position today? That instead of thinking of submission as forcing yourself down, you remembered that we have a lofty God who bends low for his children. That perspective might just bring us to our knees, because that kind of a Father is absolutely one worth submitting to.

Father God, you are so worthy of all the praise in the world, and yet you bend low to me. I'm humbled and so grateful for your love. Thank you for demonstrating it perfectly and fully through your Son. May I follow his example. I trust you to take care of me as I practice submission. In Jesus' name, Amen.